Lomo Bidco Buy Gaucho

6 September 2018

Gaucho, which entered administration in July following the collapse of sister brand CAU, has been brought by Lomo Bidco Limited. This new company consists of Hong Kong’s SC Lowy and Gaucho’s existing lenders, Investec Bank.

Investec have supported Gaucho since 2016 – even providing continued support through their difficult trading conditions in 2018. They now act in conjunction with SC Lowy, to ensure the companies survival.

‘’We know the Gaucho team well and have significant confidence they can reinvigorate and grow the Gaucho brand.’’

Not much has been reported regarding the deal, though all of Gaucho’s current 16 UK restaurants, as well as 750 employees, will be saved. This is subject to the success of a CVA which launches as of today. A Company Voluntary Arrangement will seek the approval for all liabilities linked to Gaucho’s CAU chain to be written off.

A spokesperson for Investec stated that they believe the CVA will be supported, allowing them to take the business forward and remove it from administration.

Current CEO for the restaurant chain, Oliver Meakin, has announced he will be stepping down from the company ‘’now that the future of the business has been secured under new owners’’. A new CEO has not yet been confirmed, though it has been reported that M Restaurants founder, Martin Williams could take this role. Williams will step up and take charge of Gaucho’s future, working closely with key stakeholders to drive the companies development.

Following the approval of the CVA, Gaucho’s sale is expected to be complete in mid-October. Deloitte are expected to be the supervisors of the CVA

Just a quick note to say a big thank you to all the staff at KSA, our CVA was passed today by creditors voting in an overwhelming number including HMRC to accept the proposal as prepared by KSA.

The road to reach today’s conclusion has been bumpy, but at each stage your team has supported and guided us through the issues and we have reached a very satisfactory outcome to the benefit of customers, staff, all creditors and shareholders.